My career objectives over the next five years are (1) to recruit and mentor young investigators interested in translational HIV research, (2) to further define the mechanisms and consequences of persistent inflammation during long-term antiretroviral therapy, and (3) to conduct pilot clinical trials aimed at reducing inflammation and/or size of the HIV reservoir during long-term therapy. These goals will be pursued in the context of a multidisciplinary research program aimed at translating basic research findings into the clinic (""""""""translational research"""""""") while also collecting biologic specimens from well characterized cohorts for focused laboratory based research (often referred to as """"""""reverse translation""""""""). Specifically, l will conduct a series of studies aimed at determining the complex relationship that exists between HIV persistence (during therapy), chronic inflammation and end-organ function. I will also oversee the conduct of a series of studies aimed at reducing inflammation and/or size of the reservoirs. This work will be funded by a series of grants, including a recently funded U19 whose overall objectives are to investigate the impact chronic inflammation has on HIV persistence during effective therapy. I am seeking to recompete an existing K24. Prior to receiving this K24 grant, I devoted approximately 50% of total effort to clinical care and administrative/teaching responsibilities. The K24 allowed me to focus on mentoring a series of research fellows and junior investigators, many of whom are now independent investigators. If successful, I will continue to devote approximately 25% of my effort to mentoring junior investigators in the conduct of cohort development, translational research and clinical research. Public health implications: Most HIV infected adults with access to antiretroviral therapy are able to achieve and maintain durable viral suppression with modern antiretroviral drug regimens. Despite effective suppression of HIV replication, many if not most patients exhibit persistent immune dysfunction, which in turn may cause end-organ disease. Also, it is now widely accepted that current therapies are not curative, meaning all HIV infected individuals in need of treatment will have to remain on therapy for many decades. This has significant costs and health implications for those infected with HIV. Efforts aimed at reducing chronic inflammation and/or curing HIV will therefore have long-term benefits for both the global epidemic.

Public Health Relevance

A more thorough understanding of the role of persistent inflammation and immune dysfunction in causing HIV persistence and/or disease in antiretroviral-treated adults could lead to fundamental changes in the management of this disease. Insights into the impact of inflammation on end-organ disease may even have implications for the understanding and management of other chronic inflammatory conditions. Efforts aimed at curing HIV infection could also prove lead to the prevention of HIV transmission on a global level.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24)
Project #
2K24AI069994-06
Application #
8410499
Study Section
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Research Review Committee (AIDS)
Program Officer
Fitzgibbon, Joseph E
Project Start
2007-05-01
Project End
2017-05-31
Budget Start
2012-06-21
Budget End
2013-05-31
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$116,589
Indirect Cost
$8,636
Name
University of California San Francisco
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
094878337
City
San Francisco
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94143
Scherzer, Rebecca; Shah, Sanjiv J; Secemsky, Eric et al. (2018) Association of Biomarker Clusters With Cardiac Phenotypes and Mortality in Patients With HIV Infection. Circ Heart Fail 11:e004312
Kiniry, Brenna E; Li, Shengbin; Ganesh, Anupama et al. (2018) Detection of HIV-1-specific gastrointestinal tissue resident CD8+ T-cells in chronic infection. Mucosal Immunol 11:909-920
Rutishauser, Rachel Lena; Hartogensis, Wendy; Deguit, Christian Deo et al. (2017) Early and Delayed Antiretroviral Therapy Results in Comparable Reductions in CD8+ T Cell Exhaustion Marker Expression. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 33:658-667
Tawakol, Ahmed; Ishai, Amorina; Li, Danny et al. (2017) Association of Arterial and Lymph Node Inflammation With Distinct Inflammatory Pathways in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection. JAMA Cardiol 2:163-171
Paquin-Proulx, D; Ching, C; Vujkovic-Cvijin, I et al. (2017) Bacteroides are associated with GALT iNKT cell function and reduction of microbial translocation in HIV-1 infection. Mucosal Immunol 10:69-78
Cockerham, Leslie R; Yukl, Steven A; Harvill, Kara et al. (2017) A Randomized Controlled Trial of Lisinopril to Decrease Lymphoid Fibrosis in Antiretroviral-Treated, HIV-infected Individuals. Pathog Immun 2:310-334
Ribeiro, Susan Pereira; Milush, Jeffrey M; Cunha-Neto, Edecio et al. (2016) p16INK4a Expression and Immunologic Aging in Chronic HIV Infection. PLoS One 11:e0166759
Chew, Glen M; Fujita, Tsuyoshi; Webb, Gabriela M et al. (2016) TIGIT Marks Exhausted T Cells, Correlates with Disease Progression, and Serves as a Target for Immune Restoration in HIV and SIV Infection. PLoS Pathog 12:e1005349
Delagrèverie, Héloïse M; Delaugerre, Constance; Lewin, Sharon R et al. (2016) Ongoing Clinical Trials of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Latency-Reversing and Immunomodulatory Agents. Open Forum Infect Dis 3:ofw189
Boritz, Eli A; Darko, Samuel; Swaszek, Luke et al. (2016) Multiple Origins of Virus Persistence during Natural Control of HIV Infection. Cell 166:1004-1015

Showing the most recent 10 out of 141 publications